Arkansas QB competition: Ryan Silverfield updates 'two-man race' ahead of summer

With his first spring practice at Arkansas in the books, Ryan Silverfield is still looking for his quarterback. As the summer approaches, he had an update on the “two-man race” between KJ Jackson and AJ Hill.

Jackson appeared in five games for Arkansas last season under former coach Sam Pittman and interim Bobby Petrino, throwing for 441 yards and three touchdowns during that time. Hill, meanwhile, spent the 2025 season under Silverfield at Memphis. He played in two games to preserve a redshirt before re-joining the coach in Fayetteville this year.

After spring practice, Silverfield said the staff gave both Jackson and Hill a list of areas they can improve. From there, the QB competition will continue into training camp. But over the summer, there’s one thing Silverfield wants to see from the duo.

“Steady progression,” Silverfield said. “I think the biggest thing is, I think both quarterbacks that are in the competition. We know it’s probably a two-man race right now between KJ and AJ. The reality is both did some really great things this spring.

“What we did is we laid out, said, ‘Here’s what we need to see going through training camp in order for one of you guys to separate.’ They each have almost a laundry list of things, a checklist. … Listen, they’re getting to work on their craft every single day. But they have a list of things they need to improve upon.”

Ryan Silverfield: ‘Leadership’s going to show up’ in summer

There’s also another aspect to the evaluation, Ryan Silverfield said. He pointed to the leadership qualities from both KJ Jackson and AJ Hill, which have already been apparent. But the summer presents an opportunity to further show those off-field qualities during workouts, especially when coaches aren’t always around.

“The leadership, they’re both great leaders,” Silverfield said. “That’s the nice thing. We want to see that in the offseason. In the strength and conditioning, when the coaches aren’t around, when it’s some of the 6 a.m. runs, whatever that looks like.

“Out in the heat of the day when we’re not always there watching, that’s when a lot of that leadership’s going to show up. We’re excited to see that.”

Arkansas’ quarterback competition will be one of the program’s big storylines when training camp begins later this summer. The Razorbacks will kick off Silverfield’s tenure with a Week 1 matchup against North Alabama at Razorback Stadium.